Redemption
by Little Bookwyrm
Summary: Found near death, Uchiha Sasuke is taken in by an unknown medic and allowed to live her and her sensei. Will this give him a chance to seek redemption, or will he strive to complete his revenge, and where does the others fit into this? Rated T for safety.
1. Prologue

Prologue: The Medic

Uchiha Sasuke was a failure; an absolute failure.

That was what he continually told himself as he laid drenched-to-the-core on the bank of a large river somewhere in the mountains of the Fire Country.

He had failed to become strong enough to kill Itachi and avenge the brutal murder of his clan. He failed to sense the hunter-nin who had been lurking about in the forest; failed to save his three fellow ex-Sound shinobi, who had become exhausted due to their weeks of travel, as they were struck down before his very eyes.

But most of all, he failed to escaped unscathed.

The only chakra that the male had left was being used to keep him barely alive, while his body had become numbed by the frigid river water that he had floated down as if he was dry wood for what had felt like hours. He was silently glad on that he had had enough physical strength left to pull himself up and out onto the low, sandy shore before collapsing.

While he couldn't feel the pain in his chest from where cold, hard steel had contacted it due to the cold temperature, Sasuke knew very well that it wasn't a good thing. Whether he ended up dying from hypothermia or the loss of blood that was slowly leaking from the torn flesh across his front, Sasuke knew it could be either one.

'What a way to die,' he thought sheepishly. 'Not that I care.'

Yet, as he lay there, he wondered on how he ended up like this; he was more that certain that he had done everything he believed to be essential in order to kill his brother for revenge, and even nearly killed his two ex-teammates, yet this had happened.

He hadn't been able to acquire his _own_ power; had Itachi been right?

Sasuke would've slapped himself if it wouldn't have been such a waste of his remaining energy. He had decided long ago that he would find his power on his own terms, even if it hadn't had led to this result.

This result, Sasuke now saw, would most likely cost him his life, not that really was a problem now. He hoped that Naruto and Sakura had finally given up on taking him back to Konoha.

It was very likely that this had been his fate: To live—and die—alone.

That was what Sasuke thought as his eyelids closed heavily; maybe it wouldn't be bad to die this way after all.

Fate, on the other hand, had other ideas.

Merely seconds of his conclusion, the snapping of a twig jolted Sasuke back to reality; so much for dying in peace. Allowing his eyes to remain closed, Sasuke's hearing quickly deciphered the number of foot falls. One was clearly a human, yet the other was much more quick and steady; a dog perhaps?

The Uchiha's assumption was immediately confirmed when he sense a furry snout near his damp hair, which then resulted in a fit of barking and slight growling. Urged by his instincts, Sasuke attempted to cover his ears to block the shrill pitch, but found his body unwilling to move due to the trauma it had endured the last few hours.

Nearly seconds later, Sasuke could see the glow of a lantern from behind his eyelids and heard the accompanied hard breathing, as if someone had been running.

"What do we have here?" a female's voice said softly. "A traveler who encountered a bunch of low-life thugs and left to die?"

_You could say that,_ Sasuke thought as he was too tired to say anything.

"Quite a mess you are, too," the girl said, gently placing a hand on the male's bare shoulder; Sasuke stiffened slightly at the contact.

"Still alive are we?" the voice said with amusement. "You're a resilient one."

Sasuke silently took the comment as a compliment while hearing the female rummage around in what had to be a bag. He felt his head then being lifted gently off the earth and the mouth of a cruet pressed against his lips. Despite having put up a resistance, though weak, the containers opening was forced into Sasuke's mouth, the liquid content slipping down his throat. A few of the drops attempted to slip down his windpipe instead, resulting in a vicious coughing fit on Sasuke's part.

Vomiting soon followed, forcing the young boy to turn away from the girl to expel his stomach's contents, leaving his already tired body more shaken and silently found the stench of stomach acid overwhelming.

"You'll widen the wound if you keep moving like that," the girl said, gently pulling Sasuke away from the mess and giving him more to drink, this time without regurgitating it, and to rinse his mouth.

"Now, let me take a look at that wound of yours." The girl said, placing Sasuke on his back.

She whistled softly. "Nasty wound you have, not that will be a problem." The girl lowered her hands to Sasuke's torso and began to push her Chakra gently into the still-disoriented male. Sasuke immediately felt the skin beginning to heal, but found it irritating that the girl was doing it rather slowly and then removed it early.

"I stopped the bleeding," she said. "You can sleep now and I'll get you some place warm, okay?"

"How do I…know that…you're…not an enemy?" Sasuke asked weakly then.

"Even if I was," the girl said. "I don't think you have a choice in your condition."

Sasuke could only grunt in reply; he wasn't very trusting of this unknown female—even if she was clearly helping—and wasn't about to let sleep take over just yet. He was clueless on why this girl would stop to help him, a complete stranger, and one who had decided to die.

Still, the girl was just as determined to not leave him and, when it became apparent that he wasn't going to sleep on his own, she took action.

"I didn't want to do this," she said, a hand reaching to Sasuke's neck. "But I'll just have to knock you out."

At that, Sasuke was overcome by a large burst of fear; no longer wanting to be here, Sasuke mad a brash attempt to get away. His body, however, didn't take the sudden movement very well and the lack of blood caused the Uchiha to temporarily black out.

When he managed to recover, Sasuke was shocked by his new position. The medic had managed to catch Sasuke and reposition the male so that his left side was now resting against the female's front with his head on her shoulder.

Startled by his position and even more so by the unknown female's boldness, Sasuke again tried to move away, but his body was uncooperative this time and he was stuck resting against the girl.

"Now that you've calmed down," the girl said, "let's try this again." A hand reached up and gently circled Sasuke's throat.

Believing it was the end, Sasuke closed his eyes and awaited for his neck to be snapped; when it didn't come, the male slowly opened his eyes.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" he asked, forcing the words out with each breath.

"I said 'knock you out', not 'snap your neck'," the girl replied. "I don't see any reason killing you and I for one don't like going against the code of a Medic. So relax, you need to sleep."

At the gentle touch of Chakra, Sasuke's eyes slipped shut as his consciousness was interfered and his form slumped against the girl's body as sleep finally took him.

* * *

"You took your time, Aniki," the girl said in the darkness as soon as the boy was asleep.

"I apologize, imoto," a deep voice came from a figure that had just entered the area. "I was making sure that no one had followed him and intended to finish him off."

From the glow of the lantern, a man appeared wearing a black cloak and a scarf wrapped around his neck to keep out the bitter cold of the night.

The dog responded with a welcoming yip and walked up the figure with tail wagging slightly and awarded with a pat on the head.

"No matter," the girl said, "he's asleep now."

She looked down at the sleeping figure resting against her. "He looks like a little kid in his sleep."

"That he does," Aniki answered, stooping down to lift the male off the ground, "since he is still immature."

"I'm just glad that I finally got to meet him after all these years," the girl said, standing up and gathering her lantern and bag.

"Let's go," she said. "I don't want to keep Kimi-sensei worried."

* * *

**I came up with story back in Junior High, and finally getting it written.**

**For my Tenshi fans, I'm still working on it, but I've found that working on other stories helps me to come up with more ideas for stories that I am working on, so please bear with me and I'll update as soon as possible.**

**Thank you and please review.  
**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Courier

"Hey, Chouji," Nara Shikamaru said to his teammate as the sun was reaching high noon over the Hidden Leaf.

"What's up, Shikamaru?" Akimichi Chouji asked as he pulled open a bag of BBQ potato chips.

"Don't you ever get sick of eating those?" Shikamaru asked in disgust, eyeing the several empty bags that sat beside the other male on the bench. From what he could see, there had to have been at least fifteen of them; that would surely make anyone's stomach curl.

"No," Chouji mumbled through a mouthful of chips.

The genius Nara sighed; of course Chouji wouldn't be bothered by something like this. One had to have a stomach of steel to eat as many chips as one Akimichi Chouji did in a single day, not to mention be a member of the Akimichi Clan.

"Have you by chance seen Naruto today?" he asked, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the other male's chewing. "He was supposed to meet me for training this morning, but he never showed."

Not that the male had wanted to train with the blonde—nor anything else for that matter, but neither male had been on a mission for a while and had steam to blow. When the Uzumaki hadn't shown, however, Shikamaru had wondered if the set time had slipped the other male's mind.

Chouji halted in his munching and was thinking, or trying to, at the moment.

"I haven't seen him all day," the Akimichi admitted sheepishly. "Have you checked Ichikaru?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru sighed, "but the guy there said that Naruto hadn't been there once all day." _This is really troublesome,_ he didn't say.

"That's odd," Chouji said. "You can usually find him around there. Good luck finding him, Shikamaru."

"Oh, no you don't," Shikamaru said, grabbing his teammate's arm and hoisting him to his feet. "You're going to help."

"Nani!"

* * *

Far out in the forest, a small, shadowy figure was raving through the tree tops with such speed that on the light tapping of its steps could be heard. Shallow breathing accompanied the being's movements; it had been moving none stop for nearly a day-and-a-half.

_Why me? _The figure—a young kunoichi—thought as she raced through the large branches.

_Why is it me that has to deliver? It is suppose to be my time off!_

While she was glad to have an excuse to be away from her village for a time, the young courier wasn't as equally willing to meet the Fifth Hokage. She had long heard rumors about the woman's super-human strength, mastery of medical techniques, and not to forget the owner of the most vicious temper!

The courier gulped; she really didn't want to meet the famed Tsunade if said woman was in a bad mood. She had heard of stories of the consequence of some who had crossed her on a bad day, and she really had no intention of getting thrown through a wall.

"_Get this right, Ai,"_ the courier remembered her superior say, _"or you'll be taken off the duty list for a good few months."_

"Oh, just you wait, Lin!" Ai growled as she leapt off another tree branch, this one cracking under the force of her movement. "If I happen to survive this, I'll gladly take the liberty of throwing you _through_ a tree!"

Glancing ahead, Ai could begin to see the large walls the separated the Hidden Leaf from the forest surrounding it. A large portion of the wall seemed new; was that from that attack a couple years back? Still, the seemingly impenetrable walls managed to hold an intimidating factor on Ai.

A small, nervous smile crept across her young face; almost there.

* * *

"No, Shikamaru," Yamanaka Ino said as she seated herself on a bench beside Tenten. "I haven't seen Naruto all day."

Shikamaru, with a reluctant Chouji in tow, had found the two girls, along with Inuzuka Kiba and Abruno Shino near the stadium. The four friends had been speaking about their upcoming missions to escort a very important ambassador to Snow Country while, ironically, enjoying ice cream.

"Now that you mention it," the blonde added as she struggled to keep up with her fast melting sweet. "I haven't seen Sakura all day either."

"It's really unlike those two," Tenten said, easily devouring her cone. "You can usually find them out and about."

"Perhaps they're with Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba suggested, trying his best to keep Akamaru off of him while eating his share.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I saw him talking with Asuma-sensei while I was looking for Naruto earlier."

"Have you by chance checked the Hogake's Tower?" Shino asked then, either having already finished his ice cream or had never purchased one in the first place.

"Not yet," Shikamaru admitted, sighing mentally. _This is really troublesome!_ "I was hoping that one of you had seen him."

"Gomen," Ino said childishly.

* * *

While this transaction of words was going on, Haruno Sakura sighed deeply from her house's balcony as she looked out over the village. It was a fine day, but Sakura really didn't feel like doing anything; she had helped Tsunade with some paperwork, but after seeing that she couldn't properly concentrate, Sakura had gone home.

_Of all the days to be nice, why did it have to be the same day when Sasuke left?_ She wondered, believing that the depressing sound of rain would have been much more appropriate, but knew that nothing could be done about it.

Two years; that's how long ago it was, and now Sakura was beginning to wonder if they would ever find their teammate and bring him back, even if he had tried to kill them a while ago.

Still, just as stubborn as Sasuke was _not_ to come back, so was Naruto and her to _find and bring_ him back.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!"

Looking down to the street, Sakura was greeting by the sight of a grinning Uzumaki Naruto and easily returned the smile.

"What's up, Naruto?" she asked.

"Want to go on a walk, Sakura-chan?" Naruto replied back.

"Don't you have plans to train with Shikamaru," Sakura inquired, "or did you forget again?"

"Ah, Sakura-chan, you know me too well!" Naruto's grin broadened. "So, you coming?"

"Sure," Sakura said, thinking that taking a walk would be better than sulking at home. "I'll be right down."

* * *

"I really hope Shikamaru isn't that mad at me," Naruto sighed as the two came near the memorial in their well-known training area. "I didn't mean to completely forget, but when I realized what day it was…"

"I nearly drove Shishou crazy with all the paperwork," Sakura admitted with a soft smile. "I went home after I realized that she had fallen asleep again."

"Obā-san sure has a bad habit of that," Naruto snickered and nearly got thrown aside by Sakrua's punch.

"How many times to I have to tell you, Naruto," growled Sakura. "Don't call Hokage-sama—!"

Sakura didn't manage to finish, as a blur of pink and black flashed between the two Chuunin with a trail of dust behind it. The two were slightly thrown back by the force that had been emitted and barely managed to not be thrown further by pumping Chakra into their soles.

"What was that?" an astound Naruto asked when the dust had settled somewhat.

Sakura could only cough on the dust before the blur suddenly appeared again and this time stopped right in front of the two teenagers.

Both Naruto and Sakura stared; the so-called blur was really a young girl of twelve with blonde curls and spring green orbs for eyes. She was garbed in a simple black shirt and shorts with adorned large, pink hearts on her chest, back, shoulders, and hips. On her legs were a pair of black, knee-length boots with a single heart located on the top, just below the knee, with her shuriken holsters on her right leg and her hitai-ite on her forehead with black cloth.

Time had seemed to momentarily stop as the three individuals slowly took in each other, eyes scanning up and down in order to acquire information. Naruto was a little shocked at seeing this particular Genin, as he had never seen her before, while Sakura was wondering who taught this girl fashion sense.

"Can you tell me where the Hokage's Tower is?" the girl said then in a panic, or close to one. "I'm completely lost and I haven't a clue on where to go?"

"How can you be lost?" Naruto asked, greatly puzzled. "It's just before the mountain; everyone knows that."

"Well, not me!" the girl screeched, resulting in Naruto and Sakura slightly jumping at the frequency of the sound. "No one bothered to tell me!" _I bet Lin had something to do with it,_ she didn't say.

"Well in that case," Sakura said with a friendly smile, "we'll gladly show you the way, _won't we, Naruto?_"

"Ah…uh…Sure," Naruto said, barely containing his wincing from hearing the not-so-hidden tone of Sakura's voice and wasn't willing to have to face the consequences later.

"Oh, arigato! Arigato!" The girl jumped up and down with glee. "I'm Ai, by the way. Hokkaido Ai."

"Haruno Sakura," Sakura said, shaking hands with the now ecstatic girl.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," the blonde said in chorus. "Can I ask why you need to see the Hokage?"

"Can't you tell," Ai said, placing her hands on her hips and standing with a proud aura. "I'm a courier."

Again the two teens could only stare, unsure whether to laugh or take the girl seriously.

"A courier?" Naruto managed to say without sounding insulting. "Aren't you a little young to be carrying messages, and shouldn't you be on a team?"

"Nah," Ai grinned with a grin that Sakura immediately thought looked similar to Naruto's. "I'm the solo type, and I happen to be the fastest runner in my village and in all of Fire Country!"

"You seem to be carrying something important," Sakura said, slightly curious on what a child her age could be carrying.

"You bet it is," Ai said. She hadn't learned any details concerning the content of the letter, except that it had something to do with a rogue or something like that. Ai knew that she should have paid more attention, but Lin's annoying instructions of do's-and-don'ts had began to give her a headache, and she, at the time, couldn't wait to get away.

Strangely, Ai found herself feeling rather quite at home here in the heart of Fire Country. Must have been that nearly everyone that she had encountered since arriving had been rather friendly and helpful in whatever way they could, regardless of what they had been previously doing.

"Well, you coming?" Naruto asked over his shoulder as Sakura and him where heading in the direction of Hokage's Tower.

"Ah, uh…Hai!" Just what had she gotten herself into exactly?


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Sachi the Medic

"Is he awake, Aniki?"

"Iie. He twitches now and then, but I think that's due to the fever."

"At least he's not as pale as when we found him," said the first voice. "He's finally gained some color back."

The second voice chuckled softly. "That's true," it said, "but I'm more than certain that he'll be sore for a good few days after fighting like that. Not to mention that it'll take a while for his body to heal; perhaps it'll teach him to relax for once in his life."

"Do you have to leave, Aniki?" the first voice said with sadness after a moment.

"Hai," Aniki said. "If I don't, they'll get suspicious."

"Just be safe, Aniki," the first said. "I'd hate to have to patch you up again."

"Of course," the second said. "Look after him alright."

The first laughed. "Since when did I never look after someone? Still, I'll have trouble keeping him put."

"That's why you have Benkei," Aniki said.

The first voiced only laughed.

* * *

The first thing that Sasuke became aware of was that he no longer was laying on cold ground, but something soft much like a bed. The second was that his head and entire body felt as if it was on fire, and his breathing came out in short puffs. The final thing he noticed was that there was something cold and wet on his forehead, covering his closed eyes to protect it from any possible light.

Sasuke reached up to the cloth despite his body's protest and managed to remove the cloth. Light reached his closed eyes and it was all Sasuke could do not to flinch from it; he gingerly opened his eyes to allow them to focus.

When his sight had cleared, the Uchiha found himself in a room that, thankfully, didn't resemble a prison cell, but a bedroom with a desk, bookcase, and several other civilian items.

The bed that Sasuke found himself laying on had a wooden frame, and was placed parallel of the wall opposite of the door that was currently shut and possibly locked. His head was resting on an extremely soft pillow and with the thick blanket that was covering his body, it was all that Sasuke could do not to want to close his eyes and sink back into sleep.

There was also a bedside table where a large bowl sat, possibly filled with cold water that the cloth had held against his burning forehead.

Despite the pounding in his head, Sasuke knew that he had to get out of wherever he was. He forced his body to sit up, causing the blanket to fall off him to reveal his entire torso wrapped in white bandages.

Sasuke believed that he must have sat up too fast, as the blood suddenly drained from his head and was unable to stop his body from tumbling out of the bed. What he ended up landing on was not the hard surface of the wooden floor, but a large mass of something hard with a coarse texture. Sasuke had hardly opened his mouth in a gasp from the landing when whatever it was _shifted_ underneath him and a low growl entered his ears.

Perspiration generated further on his brow as Sasuke cautiously glanced under him to discover that he had landed on the broad back of the largest canine he had ever seen.

The animal's appearance was more like that of a timber wolf than a household pet with a coat of sleek, midnight black fur. Its body was lean and muscular, its legs like young tree trunks with large paws that were armed with massive claws that looked more suited for flesh-tearing than digging in the neighbor's garden.

Oddly, the animal didn't seem to mind the fact that it had been used as a landing pad, and merely stared up at Sasuke with its large, amber eyes in an almost _amused_ manner.

The sight of the animal caused fear to overcome common sense and, in an uncharacteristic fit of panic, Sasuke tumbled off the animal, grabbing the side of the bed to stop his upper body from hitting the ground. Pain erupted in his chest and, glancing down, Sasuke saw red liquid seeping through the once white cloth; he had reopened the wound of his chest.

Cursing his bad luck, Sasuke attempted to stand, but found his legs wouldn't hold his weight and he slumped back on to the floor, gripping the bed with a death grip while his breathing came out in sudden bursts.

The sound of scrapping claws against hard wood brought Sasuke's attention back to dog, which had by now gotten to its paws and was making its way to Sasuke. Fearing for his life, as well as giving into his fear, Sasuke searched around for something to use as a weapon.

Upon finding none, he closed his eyes to await the feeling of fangs in his skin for punishment of landing on it, but instead felt something wet, sticky, and rough on his right cheek. Opening an eye, a shocked Sasuke saw that the dog was licking his face; not a lick of hunger, but it was more like a gentle lick to comfort a fellow dog.

"Benkei," a voice called through the closed door then. Despite that it was muffled by the wood, Sasuke was able to recognize the voice of the medic who had found him and—without his asking—saved his life.

At the sound of his name, the dog halted in its licking and strolled over to the door, its tail swaying slightly at the tip. While grateful that the dog's attention had been diverted, Sasuke found himself unable to move due to all the energy he had had been spent on his previous movements. The pounding in his head increased and against his wishes, Sasuke unleashed a series of light coughs.

"What's going on in there?" Sasuke glanced up to the door as it swung open and saw a girl enter the room.

"What are you doing out of bed?" The girl asked upon seeing Sasuke on the floor. "You shouldn't be up and about, especially with a fever! Eek! You're bleeding!"

Sasuke didn't say anything, but had his dark eyes take in the newcomer.

She had to have been the same age as himself, garbed in a dark blue hakama and a white haku-e that appeared a little big on her small frame. Her thick mop of hair was onyx black and cropped in a shaggy bob that fell to her jaw line, and the girl had light cobalt eyes. By the look of her, the girl had possibly been out in a garden, as she was wearing an apron that had smudges of dirt on it, and was holding a basket with tools in her hands. She quickly set down the basket and quickly untied the apron, allowing it to fall to the floor.

"Honestly," the girl huffed as she approached Sasuke, who slightly shrunk back against the bed. "I knew I shouldn't have left you alone with Benkei, even if Kimi-sensei insisted that you'd still be out for a little longer, and after seeing Benkei without a proper introduction, I'm not the least bit surprised to find you like this. Now, about that wound."

She kneeled down beside the Uchiha and rest a hand on his chest. It instantly flared with Chakra and Sasuke could feel the wound beginning to close.

"There," she said pleased with her work the moment that she felt the blood stop. "Now, let's get you back in bed."

Sasuke didn't say anything as the girl then looped her arms around his left to aid him in standing and, against his better judgment, allowed the girl to guide him back onto the bed. She replaced the fallen bedding on top of the boy and taking the cloth that had amazingly remained in Sasuke's fist, drenched in the bowl on the bedside table before placing it on Sasuke's head.

"Now that that's settled," the girl drew herself up in a professional stance, "I know that this is a little late for this, but how are you feeling?"

_How did he feel?_ Sasuke could think of several ways, many impolite, to tell the medic on just how exactly he felt. He had been knocked out, carted off to who-knows-where, woke up and ended up landing on a ridiculously large dog! Sasuke stared at the girl for several minutes, each thought swirling around in his head.

"Why do you care?" was all that he could manage without losing much of his temper.

"Well," the girl said innocently, putting her hands together and tilting her head slightly with a small smile, "I care because you've been out for nearly three days."

Sasuke was certain that his heart had skipped a few beats as his irritation immediately changed to panic. Was that why he could move so well, because he had been unconscious for so long? The thought of pursuers being closer prompted Sasuke to attempt to sit up, though it was halted by the girl pushing him back down on the bed.

"Didn't you hear me say that you need rest?" The girl asked with a scowl. "Honestly, you shinobi are all the same; ready to jump at the nearest thought of danger and take no consideration on your health."

Sasuke grunted and made another attempt, but found him being held down this time by one finger on his forehead. Feeling his irritation coming back tenfold, Sasuke tried to remove the girl's finger from his head, but found her to stubborn as a nail deeply hammered in wood.

"Keep that up, and you re-open the wound," the girl said sternly. "Don't make me knock you out again."

At the not-so-hidden promise, Sasuke ceased in his actions and, with a sigh and cough, settled down and let his arms fall back to the bed.

"That's better," the medic said with a smile as she removed her appendage. "By the way, are you hungry? It'll be simple, but we need you to eat to build your strength back up."

"I can stomach anything you can handle," Sasuke mumbled, believing that he could possibly slip out while the girl was gone.

"Don't think you can slip out of here," the girl said and it was all Sasuke could do not to flinch; how had she known?

"I haven't lost a patient yet, nor do I plan to," the medic said. "So Benkei here will be keeping an eye on you while I'm gone."

Sasuke glared at the oversized dog; it was no wonder that the girl had lost a patient yet. They were possibly scared to death by the dog's fierce appearance.

_Still,_ Sasuke thought,_ who is this girl to keep me under surveillance?_

"Sachi," the girl said suddenly, disrupting Sasuke in his thinking.

"What?" he asked, having not quite heard the girl.

"My name is Sachi," the medic said with a scowl as if angry that she had to repeat herself. "And I'm not keeping you under surveillance; it's for your own good, since Benkei is a guard dog of sorts."

Though his face didn't show it, Sasuke was shocked that the girl, now named Sachi, was able to read his thoughts.

"Oh, it's nothing," Sachi laughed. "Your eyes tell me everything that your thinking, even if others are not able to. So, what's your name?"

"Sasuke," the Uchiha said before cursing himself; he should have used a different name! There was no doubt that there was only one Sasuke, and that one was currently a wanted ninja.

Sachi turned to leave. "I'll be back with some broth, so just rest for now, Sasuke-san." Sachi smiled a gentle smile.

_Come on, Sasuke,_ a young girl's voice said then and the image of a young girl with her face darkened except for her mouth that was current pulled up in a gentle smile appeared in Sasuke's head. _Aniki's waiting. Geez, you're so slow that it'll be dinnertime by the time we get there._

Sasuke slightly shook his head; where had that come from? It was certainly a memory, but a memory of what.

"Earth to Sasuke. Earth to Sasuke. You in there?" Sachi said, having turned around and waved her hand in front of the male's face.

"What?" Sasuke asked with a growl.

"I was wondering if you were alright," Sachi said. "You looked like you spaced out for a minute."

"I'm fine," Sasuke said. "Didn't you say that you were going to get me something to eat."

"Alright, alright," Sachi said with a laugh. "Sheesh, you're pushier than Kimi-sensei, and believe me that says a lot."

This time, Sachi made her way to the door and, before closing the door, said to Benkei, "Keep an eye on him, okay boy?"

Benkei barked once and padded over to the bed, laying down beside with a sigh and a yawn.

Sachi's smile widened. "You should rest too, Sasuke-san. I'll wake you when the broth's done, so get some sleep. You'll need it to recover, and don't worry about the bandage; I'll change it after you eat."

Once the door clicked shut, Sasuke allowed his head to sink farther into the pillow; man, that girl was annoying, annoying for a medic at least. He really wasn't sure if he should be happy that she hadn't asked any personal question, something like Karin did.

The sudden recalling of his teammate's name brought a wave of unneeded sadness about; Sasuke knew that they were as good as dead, and it was his fault for not protecting them. Sasuke wondered if this was another part of his fate; that everyone would either be killed or abandon him.

Why did Fate have to be cruel to someone like him?

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. I didn't make Sasuke too OOC, did I? Then again, I'm writing this, so it can be how I want it, but I want to keep Sasuke's...er..."cool?" personality in, so please let me know what you think.**

**Reviews are the fuel for writers, so I've heard, so please review.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**ALERT! ALERT!**

Sorry for those of you who thought this was an update, but this is too important:

For those of you who don't know, the site that you're reading from right now might just start cracking down on the restrictions. This includes violence, yaoi, yuri, and other traits commonly found in fanfiction. If a story has these traits, they might be shut down. I myself don't have much flair for yaoi or yuri, but I believe in a person's right to write whatever they wish without discrimination or termination of their work.

There are two ways for you to help: One, there is a petition on DarkHeartInTheSky's profile page. It doesn't even take a minute and it helps us protect our freedom and prove that we, as authors/authoresses, readers, translators, and even beta readers can make a difference.

The second thing that we can do is to participate in the Black Out Day taking place on June 23, organized by Zukofan2005. On June 23rd, starting at 0:00 GMT(12:00pm for those who don't know military time), don't go onto this site. Don't read, review, pm, update, etc. If enough people participate, the site will take us seriously and take our thoughts about this into consideration.

Basically:

_**-FF is trying to enforce restrictions on yaoi, yuri, violence, etc.**_

_**-Stop this by signing the petition on DarkHeartInSky's profile page.**_

_**-Stop this by participating in the Black Out Day.**_

If you wish, copy this page and update it in your works to spread the word around!


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